Table 1 SOAM individual level variables and values.
From: Opinion amplification causes extreme polarization in social networks
Variable | Definition | Value range |
|---|---|---|
\({O}_{i,t=0}\) | Initialized opinion of individual \(i\) at timestep 0, which is a random number between value range. A value of −1.0 means a very negative opinion on the topic, and a value of 1 means a very positive opinion on the topic. Note that for \(t\) > 0, there is potential for opinions to go beyond the original opinion range | [−1.0, 1.0] |
\({O}_{i,t>0}\) | Opinion of individual \(i\) at timestep \(t\) > 0 | [−∞, ∞] |
\({E}_{i}\) | Whether or not the individual \(i\) is an amplifier | True/False |
\({E}_{i,t}\) | Whether or not the individual \(i\) amplifies their opinion in timestep \(t\), which is True if \({E}_{i}=True\, and\, {P}_{i,t}\le Pe,\) where \({P}_{i,t}\) is a generated probability for that individual \(i\) at that timestep \(t\) | True/False |
\({\sigma }_{i,t}\) | Amplified amount for individual \(i\) at timestep \(t\), a random number between 0 and \(s\), where \(s\) is the strength of amplification, see Table 2 | [0, \(s\)] |
